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I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, f 



OUGHT CHRISTIANS 



DEIK"K WIN} 



^ DISCOURSE, 

Preached ix tub Baptist Church, Fredonia, N. Y. 
September 9tn, 1S66, 

BY HOWARD M.'jONES, 

Pastor of the Congregation 



3?Vil>lisli.ecL "by Requee 



DUNKIRK, N Y.: 

LH& & HILL, STKAM BOOK AN P JOB P 

ie Dunkirk J 



ger connected with the habit of drinking wine. 
i : long been acknowledged among Christi: - 
and this, together with the fact that pi 
wines are almost unknown in this count r 
has led most of Christ's professed followers 
exclude Re- 

cently, however, with the increase of native 
wines, it has been urged that the pure juice of 
the grape, used as a substitute for the distilled 
and poisonous liquors now common, will pro- . 

: f e 'the cause of i nee, rather than 

hinder it, And the practical question is now 
before uis: Shall I or hall I not, as a disci- 
ple of Christ, countenance the use of wine as 
a beverage? It is the object of this discourse 
to help you solve this question, in the light of 
that "new affection which I trust has been im- 
planted within you by the -Spirit of God. I- 
appeal to you as to those whose controlling 
motive is the love of Jesus. With the Chris- 
tian, the question should be, not, how far can 
I go in self-indulgence ? but, How far can I 
honor my Savior by cheerful self-denial? 

In order to a practical solution of .this wine 
"question, it is not necessary to enter into' a 
- - 



-cieiiL to ascertain the ordinary usa; 

. eesing the principal woido translated ^ i 
iti our Bibles ? .aiid thence decide upon, our 
duty in the premises. 

I well to mmeinber 3 however* in the out- 
a&fc* that from -whafc we snow, of the effects ox 

-c-aii^Kkig, ttieiie u i strong presumption 
against u. We. wiii We-ef ore- examine the ar- 
guments in favor of wine, before orxerkig the 
positive reasons for total abstinence. 

It is said, first, that wine is spoken of with 
approval in the Scriptures, and that therefore 
we may kmoeenth use it as a -beverage. ,4s 
is well known, there are various Hebrew words 
which m our version are translated -wine. Of 
these, however, only 'two, thrash and ?/a//m, r are 
used with considerable frequency. Tiros-h, it 
has been satisfactorily shown, does not pro- 
perly denote wine of any kind, It is most 
frequently found associated with words trans- 
lated corn and oil, but which really denote in 
general terms the produce of the field, (dag an,) 
and produce of the orchard i {yUzharl Thus 
the three signify comprehensively, the pro- 
duce of the -field, vineyard and orchard. — 
There are other words to denote the bread, 



wine and oil manufactured from them; and 
the natural product and the manufactured ar- 
ticle are sometimes distinguished from each 
other by the use of these very words. The 
tithes were to be paid of the dagan, tirosh and 
i/Uzhar, the grain, vine-fruit and orchard- 
fruit, thus embracing everything the farmer 
would raise. Yitzhar embraces not only oil, 
the produce of the olive tree, but also the 
fresh olive, the fig, the date, the pomegranate 
and the citron ; dagan includes grain of all 
kinds; and tirosh the grape, whether fresh 
or dried or pressed. Tirosh occurs in the Bi- 
ble 38 times; of these, it occurs 32 times in 
connection with dagan or yitzhar, or both, 
clearly denoting the product of the vine in its 
natural state. In Judges, IX. 13, it occurs 
alone; the vine said, "shall I leave my tirosh, 
(i. e., fruit, not wine,) which cheereth God 
and man?" In other passages, as in Micah, 
VI. 15, tirosh denotes the grapes put into the 
vat for making wine. "Thou shalt tread the 
olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil, 
and the tirosh, (grapes, not sweet wine as our 
version has it,) but shall not drink the wine. v 
This translation fully preserves the parallelism 



which the other does not. So where the 
presses are described as overflowing or burst- 
ing with tlrosh, the grapes are intended, not 
the liquid, which instead of overflowing' the 
press-vat runs out into another vessel. Be- 
sides we have a distinct word,, aitsis, to denote 
the must or freshly expressed juice. It is 
' worthy of remark -also, that tiro.sh is never de- 
scribed as put into jars, or cups, or bottles, as 
would bo natural, were it a liquid. In only 
one place is it mentioned as something to 
drink; in the 62d of Isaiah. There it is con- 
nected with dagan t corn, as expressive of the 
entire satisfaction of the appetite; "they shall 
-eat the corn and drink the grape," i. e., not 
these articles themselves, but the bread made 
from the one and the wine expressed from the 
other. Even Gesenius, who usually adheres 
to the old interpretation of the word, here as- 
signs to it the very meaning now claimed for 
it, grape-fruit. The grape has always been 
one of the staple productions of Syria, and 
has a great variety of uses. Multitudes of 
grapes are eaten fresh or dried into raisins. — 
The grape furnishes the people with preserves, 
pickles, sugar, vinegar and molasses. The 



^reen grape? are dried 
a bh asaddt, cooling ctrii Ike '. :e_ hi . .. 
beverage is also made from raisins. Bib's, o 
thick molasses, almost a candy, made from 

ra - very abundant: in some places much 

more so than wine, Dr. Eli Smith, a v.. 
missionary of Syria, than whom no one has 
had a better opportunity of fudging, says. 
:f Wine is not the most important; but rather 
the least so, of ail the objects for which the 
vine is cultivated ;" and again, writing of the 
vineyards 6i.Bhamdun. "the wine made is qd 
item of no consideration." 
It will be seen from. this examination, that 
jmmendation 01 tirosh, is merely, a com- 
mendation of the grape, not of fermented 
wine. 

uji.e pthei pebrew word, undoubted- 
ly signifies wine i generic term.' and 

.. : kind of wine 
referred tG, bu: . j- ••responding Eng- 
lish word usual." [enc & 33 'nice 

of the gra; r et y ;ri paeans univer^ailv 

t a_ _ i ar) she Latin 

.; somew.hat vi : ;__an our English 

word. It is sometimes put foj . must. 

sometimes for ~ Tiif, sometimes 



even for the wine itself. Whenever it is men- 
tioned as being tithed for the service of the 
sanctuary, we must understand it as equivalent 
to tirosh; for the tithe, at least in Old Testa- 
ment times, was laid upon the raw material, 
not upon the manufactured article. Toy in is 
mentioned as a common beverage; it formed 
part of the temple-stores; its use was not pos- 
itively forbidden except to the priests and 
Nazarites. But to argue from the mere his- 
torical circumstance, that God regards fer- 
mented wine as a blessing and desires us to 
use it freely, is to leap to a conclusion entirely 
unwarranted. So far as I can see, there are 
but few passages where the use of yayin is 
apparently commended. In the 104th Psalm, 
it is said to be given by the Lord, and to make 
glad the heart of man; God, however, strictly 
speaking, does not give fermented wine, but 
the fresh juice in the grape; and the mirth 
that is generated over the wine-cup, is far re- 
moved from the gladness which belongs to 
the devout worshipper of God. We must be- 
lieve then that yayin here stands for tirosh, 
grape-produce, and we can do this the more 
readily, seeing it is connected with bread and 
oil, denoting the two other kinds of natural 
produce. If we believe on the authority of 



u 

fehial passage that God intended fermented wine 
for a beverage, tfe must on tin sam 3 authority 
believe that he would have di besmear our 
faces with oil. The whole passage is merely 
an expression of gratitude to God for the 
kindly fruits of the earth. The passage in 
Deut. XIV, also proves too much. The Jews 
are there told to bestow their money "for 
wine or strong drink, or whatsoever their soul 
lusted after." Surely we are not to believe 
that God commended strong drink, or gave 
his people unlimited license. Then we need 
not believe that he here commends wine. — 
There remains only the passage in Proverbs 
XXXI, "Give strong drink unto him that is 
ready to perish, and wine unto him that is of 
a heavy heart." If this language be read in 
its connection, it will be seen that the whole 
passage is against the use of wine. Kings are 
not to drink wine, lest they forget the law, 
and pervert judgment. If wine is to be used 
at all, give it as a tonic to the distressed or a 
stimulant to those who are ready to perish. — 
It is said that there ara 24 passages in which 
ijaiflii is apparently commende 1, out of 140 in 
which the word occurs: whereas in more than 
70 it is mentioned with strong disapproval.—^ 
Since it does not always mean fermented wine, 



11 

nlaywenotbeliBV6ttiiit.it never does wlieli 
mentioned approvingly. 

If the views presented be correct* the .Old 
..Testament is far less favorable to wine than is 
sometimes believed. It does not enjoin total 
abstinence, but it abounds in cautions against 
the intoxicating cup. We read of Samson, 
Samuel, Daniel and John the Baptist, that 
they took no wine whatever. Total abstinence 
was required of priests, Nazarites and Eecha- 
bites. The entire nation during the 40 years 
in the wilderness drank no wine, and the rea- 
son is assigned by Jehovah: "that ye might 
know that I am the Lord your God. " When 
God fed the nation, he gave them no wine to 
exhilarate them in their desert journey. He 
might have done so, but his name was glorified 
without the use of such a beverage. 

But if tlie Old Testament allowed the mod- 
erate use of wine, it by no means follows that 
we should drink it. Moses, as a civil ruler, 
allowed slavery, polygamy, divorce, blood - 
revenge, on account of the hardness of the 
Jewish heart. Knowing that he could not ab- 
solutely prevent these things, he regulated 
them, and endeavored to check their worst 
forms. But some of these things our Savior 
forbade altogether, and others, such as slave- 



12 

ry, are being destroyed by the powet of his 
cross. Dancing was permitted in the old dis- 
pensation as a religious service. It does not 
follow that christians at the present day 
should indulge in it as a social amusement. — 
No more does it follow that we should have 
our wine-cellars and sparkling decanters, be- 
cause David and Solomon laid in their stores 
of wine. We live in an age, in some respects 
far more enlightened than theirs; in an age 
of fewer outward restraints; of more wide and 
rapidly spreading temptations, and when our 
rule is the Gospel law of love. Distilled liq- 
uors were then unknown : now they are the 
almost inevitable successors of wine. Even 
unbelievers are willing to abstain from so 
dangerous a beverage for the good of society. 
And can christians do less? 

But it is said that Christ countenanced wine 
by himself partaking of it. We have no evi- 
dence that he did so. He was called a wine- 
drinker, (the Greek word means simply that, 
not toper,) but it was by the same foes who 
falsely accused him of gluttony. Their testi- 
mony is worthless. But he turned water into 
wine at Cana. This is. appealed to as an un- 
answerable argument. But since the Greek 
word oinos, like the Hebrew yayin, does not de- 



13 

note exclusively intoxicating wine, it may not 
in this instance; indeed, I think we may go 
farther, and say that it cannot. Can we be- 
lieve that Re who was in all things a pattern 
of se]f-denial, and who required his disciples 
io crucify the flesh, that Christ, were he now 
upon earth, would furnish of his own free 
will a hundred gallons of alchoholic wine to a 
wedding party, who had already drunk large- 
ly of the same intoxicating beverage? We 
cannot for a moment reconcile such a thought 
with our Lord's character; hence we must be- 
lieve the wine referred to, to be unfermented. 
So evidently thought the learned Augustine, 
who lived mnch nearer than we to our Sa- 
vior's own time. He writes, "He who made 
the wine at this wedding, does the same thing 
every year in the vines. Just as the water in 
the water-pots was turned into wine by the 
Lord, so that which the clouds pour down 
from Heaven, is turned into wine by the same 
Lord." Again, it is said that at the supper 
established by our Savior for his disciples, 
fermented wine is one of the elements. This 
is by no means clear. The supper was insti- 
tuted in connection with the Jewish Passover, 
where everything fermented was carefully ex- 
cluded by the law of Moses. We have no rea* 



u 

sdn to believe that our Savior departed from 
that law, although the Jews of a later age are 
said to have used fcrjnented wines. . The Tal- 
mud iu such a matter is poor authority against 
the Pentateuch. 

It is passing strange that Paul's advice to 
Timothy should ever have been quoted in fa- 
vor of. the use of wine as a beverage. . It is 
plain from the language used that Timothy 
believed in total abstinence; nay, went so far 
that he would not use wine as a medicine.— 
And Paul told him that he needed a little 
sometimes, to relieve his indigestion. The 
ordinary rule for bishops, is that they be not 
given to wine (Gr. paroinos). Some have con- 
strued this to mean that they might, drink it 
moderately, if not given to it. But the Greek 
will not bear that construction. It means 
literally "with wine," or "in the company of 
wine," and refers to social drinking. A bish- 
op or pastor must not countenance the social 
glass, by his presence where it is passed. 

So much for the direct Scripture argument. 
But aside from this, it is argued that wine is 
one of the good things of God, intended for 
our use, and to be received as such with 
hankfulness. Of this there is no doubt. In 
a certain sense, all things are good. Thorns 



- ■ 15 

and thistles doubtless have their use, Itcloetf 
not follow that we should plant them in our 
gardens. Tobacco is not an unmingled curse. 
It does not follow thr.t we ought to defile our 
mouths with it daily. Arsenic and strychnine 
1iave their uses. It does not follow that we 
are to make a beverage of them. No more 
does it follow from the existence of fermented 
wine, that God meant it for a beverage. One 
might almost as well say that decayed meat 
or vegetables were intended for oar suste- 
nance. The fermentation of wine is to the 
chemist only another name for putrefaction. 
A chemical change takes place which destroys, 
or at least greatly impairs its nutritive char- 
acter. It has probably medicinal uses, but is 
not to be classed among the things intended 
for our sustenance or refreshment, any more 
than a decayed apple or potato. 

Having replied to these various objections, 
let me advert to the positive arguments for to- 
tal abstinence from wine: In the first place, 
it is to be considered that even the manufac- 
ture of native wine will not prevent adultera- 
tion. It cannot be made so cheaply that wa- 
ter, combined with alcohol and other poisons 
will not cheapen it. When pure wine could 
be furnished in Italy at one cent a bottle, re- 



16 

tailers chose to gain a fraction of profit by the 
admission of water or drugs; such is the lan- 
guage of Greenough, the sculptor, who resided 
many years in Florence. The Catawba wine 
of trade is adulterated. Ths simple ferment- 
ed juice of the grape is not to be had in the 
market. The old argument then from the 
adulteration of wine is stil 1 a good one, and 
will remain a sufficient reason for total absti- 
nence, until that millenium arrives when dis- 
honesty shall cease. 

The chief reason, however, why the Chris- 
tian should not countenance the use. of wine, 
is, that with wine-drinking intemperance usu- 
ally commences. The temperate man usually 
has no relish for whiskey. The enemy can- 
not reach him by that avenue. The strong 
temptation is when the sparkling cup of wine 
is passed, by fair hands perhaps, in some 
brilliant social circle. It is hard under such 
circumstances to say no, hard to withstand the 
fascination, or provoke the ridicule of a pleas- 
ant evening party. O, that those ladies who 
set the wine-glass and the decanter on their 
tables, could lift for a moment the veil of fu- 
turity, and see those young men whom they 
are enticing to their ruin, filling a drunkard's 
dishonored grave, and hear the bitter re- 



17 

proaclies of th : ' ■ or, I took 

I - he first step in the road to rain, 
did I say? Would that that were uL Many 
of the elegant ladies, whose summers have 
hitherto been spent at New-port and Saratoga, 
-are how at ah ? asyiuni for inebriates, 
18; daughters of the most respectable mer- 
chants of New York, have been seen grossly 
i moxicate d in Broadway. Fashionable drink • 
>ng is as common among women as it used to- 
be among men. And this begins, as we well 
know, in drinking wine. Shall the force of 
iur example, fellow- Christians, be given to 
sustain a practice leading to results so fearful V 
Dare we even tamper with our own appetites 
in this direction? We think there is no dan- 
ger, but we know not the tiger fury of insa- 
tiable appetite, when once aroused. Our only 
safety is in banishing the wine-cup from our 
tables altogether; the only safety for ourselves 
or for the community wherein we dwell Can 
one 'enter the rapids, and be in no danger of 
going over the cataract? "Can one take fire 
in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned 9 ' 
Suppose, however. I Have so • great self-con - 
trol, or so little taste for liquor, that I can 
drink moderately of pure wine without any 
sensible evil effects to myself, -without culti- 



18 

vating a taste for stronger potations; the ef- 
fect of our example upon others is still to be 
considered, at least by the professed Christian. 
The glass of wine that does not injure rae, 
may awaken in another, an. insatiable thirst 
for stimulating drinks. The natural effect of 
every alcoholic beverage, after the exhilara- 
tion is over, is to awaken a demand for more. 
And when I speak of an alcoholic beverage, it 
is of course understood, that there can be no 
fermentation without producing alcohol. —- 
The purest ier men ted wine is alcoholic, though 
no manufactured alcohol be added. Far- 
ther, it is said byihose who speak from expe- 
rience that the intoxication from wine, though 
not so speedy as that from distilled liquors, 
continues longer, and is therefore on the 
whole equally pernicious. The wine-cup is a 
more insidious foe than the whiskey-bottle; 
more dangerous on account of its greater at- 
tractiveness and plausibility. It' we indulge 
in it, we imperil body and soul, and set an ex- 
ample which may lead many others into the 
slippery path of ruin. 

Still further: The wine-drinking Christian 
wounds the feelings of many of his brethren — 
weaker brethren, he may esteem them. They 
may not be able^ to convince him of the wrong- 



w 

fulness of his course. He may be confident 
that the Scriptures sustain him in it. But to 
them, wine-drinking, even temperate wine- 
drinking under present circumstances is a sin; 
their scruples are thoroughly honest; the case 
^precisely analogous to that of the Corinthi- 
ans, to whom Paul wrote, "If meat make my 
brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the 
world standeth." Some church members are 
induced by the .example' of 'others, to drink 
wine, although they have many conscientious 
misgivings about it. They thus oommit sin, 
for ' 'whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Oth- 
ers regarding all wine-drinking as iniquity,, 
abstain from it themselves and are grieved 
with those who insist on their liberty in this 
matter. And in this manner trouble arises in 
the church. The case is exactly similar to the 
state of affairs at Corinth. Are the advocates 
of wine willing thus to wound the consciences 
of their weaker brethren, if so they choose to 
consider them? Is it not better to obey the 
inspired word, wherein we read that "it is 
good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine, 
nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth 
or is offended or is made weak." Such cer- 
tainly would seem to be the Christian law of 
love. 



a . m a 1 -_e advocacy of wine by | 
.ors of piety gives occasion to the enem 
•i religion to blaspheme. Such has been the 
ndirect influence of Christianity, that many 
iave become friendly to good morale who 
not friendly to evangelical religion. They 
. 4 that a regard S&r the welfare of the com- 
^ity require^ tnena to adopt the principle 
A ioiqa abstinence, and when Christ and his 
ioilowers ax*e set forth as convivial wine-drink- 
ers, they exult in their greater purity and sell., 
denial, thus lowering the gospel in the eyes oi 
men. The distinguishing glory of the gospel 
is the principle of self-denying love. And 
here, say they, Christ and Ms disciples are be- 
hind the unbelievers. Is any Christian dis- 
ciple willing to furnish the occasion for such 
an indignity to his Master? Eemember the 
apostolic injunction i ' 'Let not then your good 
be evil spoken of;"' it is surely applicable to 
such a doubtful good as the use of wine for a 
beverage. 

Those who, on the contrary, are themselves 
iriven to Wine, and drink sometimes to iufcoai- 
:oUj -are glad enough -to find a supposed 
apology for their conduce in the Scriptures.— 
It is a perversion of the example of the .tem- 
perate drinker, to be sure. It does not follow 



21 

because I drink one glass of wine that, anoth- 
er may drink ten. or because I drink the pure 
liquid from my own vineyard, that, lit 
drink drugged whiskey. Yet if I knoe 
my moderate indulgence is sure to be used us 
an argument to draw others into intoxication, 
can I do less than to exercise the slight self- 
denial? iin enthusiastic disciple of Ghribt 
would surely take pleasure in such self ^denial, if 
thereby he might hope to save even one per 
son from the vortex of dissipation and ruin. 

But, it is urged, if pure wine becomes abun- 
dant in our- country, in consequence of the 
increased cultivation of the vine? intemperance 
will decrease. Pure native wines will take the 
place of the poisonous compounds with which 
the country is flooded. This is at best a very 
doubtful experiment. From the lands of the 
vine we have conflicting testimony. It is cer- 
tain that in many of -them, intemperance pre- 
vails to an alarming degree . It has been sup - 
posed that less distilled liquor is consumed in 
wine-growing countries than .in the United 
States, decent statistics prove the contrary. 
In 1863 the consumption of brandy alone id 
Paris, was nearly 7 gallons to each inhabitant, 
while in 1860, the entire amount of all kind- 



22 

ported into the United States, did not exceed 
one gallon for each inhabitant. This indi- 
cates that abundance of wine does not 
prevent the use of distilled liquors. Certainly 
the contrary cannot be proved. And eveD if it 
could be shown that wine tends to expel the 
stronger beverage, it will be many years ere 
it can be cheap and universal in this country. 
In the mean time, with the increased facility 
of procuring wine, especially if Christians fa- 
vor its use, there must be an increase of in- 
temperance. Those who have an appetite for 
strong drink will satisfy it, whether in the use 
of wine or whiskey. They are never satisfied 
until they reach a state of intoxication, and 
they can reach it by wine as well as by rum. 
It is only necessary that they should take a 
larger quantity, which they would naturally 
do. The immediate effects of wine-making 
and drinking are plainly mischievous, Is it 
right then for Christians to engage in it, on the 
theory, unsupported by evidence, that by-and- 
by, it will supplant the manufacture and use 
of drugged and distilled liquors? The way to 
promote temperance is not by digging wine- 
cellars, and inviting men to drink genuine 
wine instead of spurious brandy, but by per- 
stfadittg them to give up every intoxicating 



23 

beverage, and winning them to the Savior, 
through whom alone they can be preserved 
from temptation, and come off more than con- 
querors. 

Learn, my brethren, in Christ's strength, 
for his sake and for the sake of your dying 
fellow-men, to ' 'abstain from all appearance of 
evil." "And the very God of peace sanctify 
you wholly, and I pray God, your whole spir- 
it and soul and body be preserved blameless 
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 



